Football Ferns Head Coach Tom Sermanni has detailed their challenging logistics in the lead up to the Tokyo Olympics.
Speaking at a W-League finals press conference, Sermanni lauded the Kiwis in the W-League, calling out Olivia Chance, Annalie Longo, Claudia Bunge and Paige Satchell.
“I’ve been really delighted with how the four of them have gone,” Sermanni said.
“Paige and Claudia have just come into the league for the first time. Annalie has been a regular and a very experienced player. Olivia’s played overseas and is a very experienced player.
“Paige and Claudia for Canberra [United] and Melbourne [Victory], to sign them there has always been a little bit of a risk factor, but I think as the season has gone on I’ve been really delighted with the improvement that they’ve made.
“They’re loving it. They’re loving the involvement with the teams playing full-time, the first time in their careers of actually getting paid some money to play football.
“As the season has gone on, both of them have really started to mature and the performances have continued to develop as they’ve had more and more game time.”
Sermanni went on to discuss the critical importance of game time for central defender Claudia Bunge, who has played every minute of every game this season for Victory.
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“It’s critically important and she scored a couple of goals as well which is a bit of a concern because then they think they’re centre forwards all of a sudden,” Sermanni joked.
“It’s really important from a whole range of perspectives.
“Getting competitive games under your belt is really important and for being in a league where results actually matter and you’re under pressure. All those things help.
“We are potentially going to the Olympics without playing an international in almost 18 months and it’s really important that they have that level of competitiveness at a club level.”
Sermanni reflected on Perth Glory goalkeeper Lily Alfeld, highlighting that she has had a terrific season.
“I think it’s been fantastic for her and I think she has generally been outstanding. Even at the last game, she didn’t really have many opportunities to save the other goals.”
With the recent announcement of two Matildas matches, Sermanni emphasised the lack of game opportunities for the Ferns.
“The thing Australia has over us is that they have [a sufficiently big core of] players in Europe.”
In contrast, the Ferns are playing everywhere – from the east coast and west coast of America in the NWSL, in college, as well as three or four home-based in New Zealand.
“We’ve got several in the W-League here and all the staff are in New Zealand. So the challenge is for us to bring all of those people together.”
Sermanni detailed that he literally won’t see his four NWSL based players or the three based in northern Europe until they get to Tokyo.
“We’re trying to get as many others back to New Zealand by the end of May if possible to at least try and get some connection with the team and the players.”
If there’s a chance of a bubble between Australia and New Zealand, Sermanni would be keen to see some matches between the two FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 host nations. It all depends on the number of players they can actually get together in New Zealand.
“We are discussing the possibility of the games against the Matildas.”
One player who unfortunately won’t be available for New Zealand at the Olympics is Rebekah Stott as she’s undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Yesterday was a big day! 💇♀️💇♀️💇♀️
I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone for your unbelievable generosity throughout my World’s Greatest Shave fundraising and a big shoutout to my incredible support crew. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/dpIlEAt97f
— Rebekah Stott (@stotty_13) March 30, 2021
“We got her back from Brighton as quickly as we could back into Melbourne, where she’s getting her treatment.
“Her resilience has been unbelievable. The way that she’s just tackled this head-on from day one. Put a plan in place, put all the systems in place and then go about doing it is just remarkable.
“She’s such a popular player. Everybody loves her. When she brought the news to the players, they were devastated when they heard it, and she’s just been phenomenal. We’re hopeful and confident that she will be back on the football field at some stage.”
